From Sharne Wolff…
Sometimes known by his street name, ‘marcsta’, Marc de Jong’s art career began with a clear motivation to become a voice of dissent. He tackled what he saw as threatening anti-human advertising and corporate manipulation with engaging inverted ‘Readvertisements’ and gentle humour. de Jong has continually mixed his choice of artistic mediums and exhibition venues, seen everywhere from the laneways of Melbourne to the walls of the National Gallery.
In this new show LNDSCP(S), de Jong’s paintings are the embodiment of a contemporary ‘slow’ art. He’s been perfecting a style of painting where he laboriously reconstructs selected digital images in the form of pixelated oil paintings on canvas. The paintings are a variation on the Pointillist pictures of Georges Seurat and others in the early 20th century, where artists merged ideas of colour theory and modernity in what TJ Clark called an “improbable distinctiveness of form”. Up close, the pixels are evident – just like a TV screen. At a distance texture and spacing becomes irrelevant.
As the title suggests, de Jong has painted Australian landscapes. The distinctive scenes of the city in Traffic Supermarket and the mysterious urban folklore of Shoefiti 2, contrast with his homage to Albert Namatjira in Rivergum and other outback scenes. Like many artists before him, de Jong reflects on the past to enlighten us about the present.
Sullivan + Strumpf Fine Art>, Zetland
Until 4 August 2012
Pic: ‘Shoefiti 2’ 2011, oil on canvas, 107 x 76.5cm. Courtesy the artist and Sullivan and Strumpf.
